Volvo announce switch to electric cars

July 5, 2017

Great news this morning – Volvo have announced that from 2019 onwards they will not be making any cars that solely run on internal combustion engines (normally petrol or diesel). Instead the car giant will be adding electric battery technology to all cars built.

Volvo is looking to introduce a portfolio of electrified cars across its model range, embracing fully electric cars, plug-in hybrid cars and mild hybrid cars. Between 2019 and 2021, it will launch 5 fully electric cars, 3 of which will be Volvo models and the other 2 will come via their high-performance car arm, Polestar. This announcement represents perhaps the most significant development yet from any of the more traditional car makers, in the move towards electrification. However, we mustn’t forget Tesla, the company that can really take the credit for propelling electric vehicles into the mainstream over the last 5 or years or so.

Why are Volvo going electric?

We have seen demand for electric cars in recent years, and getting into the game early is no bad thing. The benefits of electric cars are becoming more widely known, and the market will only increase. A quarter of UK carbon emissions are from road transport, petrol and diesel cars are increasingly unpopular since the VW emissions scandal. Manufacturers and potential buyers are currently supported by generous government grants to help EU countries reach ambitious carbon reduction targets for tackling climate change and urban air pollution.

This announcement also comes on the back of battery prices dropping dramatically (as a result of mass production) and it seems the fabled $100/kWh price is only months away!

Where once electric cars were a gimmick, they are now an attractive, efficient and increasingly affordable alternative.

What does this mean for the petrol car market?

Volvo estimate that by 2025 they will have sold 1m electrified cars (either hybrid or full electric). This is exciting news for consumers, who will have much more to choose from where electric cars are concerned – and also for the those worried about the environmental impacts of petrol cars! We predict that we’ll be seeing more and more electric cars on the roads in the coming years, with people increasingly switching on to their benefits.

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